NewsWatch: Summary of Top Stories

CBS.MarketWatch.com

U.S. economy going strong, new reports show . . .

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. economy is showing no signs of Asian flu, three economic reports showed. The manufacturing sector is particularly strong. The National Association of Purchasing Management's composite index rose to 53.3 percent in February from 52.4 percent in January, indicating a vibrant economy. In separate reports, the Commerce Department said personal income rose 0.6 percent in January while spending rose 0.4 percent. The department also said construction spending rose 1 percent in January.

Compaq faces price pressure . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ)
cpq
may lose more ground Tuesday after the computer maker revealed it is experiencing intense price competition in the current quarter. Speaking at the Merrill Lynch's technology conference, the company said North America's pricing environment has been more aggressive than expected. Concerns that lower prices might whittle Compaq's gross margins drove the stock lower Monday afternoon. Shares closed down 1 at 31 1/8.

Bill Gates steps into a lion's den . . .

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- When he enters the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room on Tuesday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will step into the ring for a showdown with three of his major nemeses: Netscape Communications' Jim Barksdale, Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy and Sen. Orrin Hatch, the committee chairman.

Sunbeam leads merger Monday . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The record pace set in 1997 for U.S. mergers and acquisitions showed no signs of abating, when executives at several companies unveiled more than $11 billion of corporate combos. The mergers, most of them using high-priced U.S. stocks, are starting to spread overseas, prompting some investment analysts to wonder whether executives are overreaching.

Rubin mixed on Asian outlook . . .

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin gave a mixed grade to Asian countries for their economic recovery efforts, saying there was much to be done to restore stability to the region. "In our view, there is a long way to go and a great deal to do in these troubled Asian nations before we can feel secure that the period of instability is over," Rubin told the Institute for International Bankers annual conference.

SAN MATEO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Shares in high-flying Siebel Systems (SEBL)
sebl
dropped 10 percent after the company said it will issue 7.5 million shares, valued at $460 million, to acquire stumbling rival Scopus. (SCOP)
SCOP, -1.27%
. The companies, which make sales force automation software, said they expect the deal to close next quarter. In its most recent year, Siebel quadrupled earnings and tripled sales; analysts expect sales to increase more than 150 percent this year.

Treasury bonds ahead of business demand figures . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- extended last week's declines as the market awaited the key release of the February National Association of Purchasing Management's business survey due at 10 a.m. ET. The personal income of Americans rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in January, the Commerce Department said, a bit higher than the 0.5 percent increase expected by most economists.Eurodollar prices , which move inversely to the market's view of short-term interest-rate direction, traded flat to 1 basis point lower.

Coffee cools as supplies increase . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- May coffee fell 2.4 percent, reaching a seven-week low earlier in the session, as supplies begin to arrive at U.S. ports. Coffee stocks at exchange-certified warehouses are at a two-year high amid decreased coffee consumption due to an abnormally-warm winter. Demand is seen slipping further with the first day of spring less than three weeks away, analysts say.

March offerings: In like a lamb . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The IPO market strolls into March with a light calendar dotted with only a few notable deals. Despite the subdued beginning to the month, at least one analyst says the IPO market is getting ready to turn hotter. "The market is quietly bubbling and getting ready to skyrocket," said John Fitzgibbon, editor of the IPO Reporter. "Most suckers just don't realize it."

Tech job market is white hot . . .

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The stories circulating about the lengths to which companies will go hire high-tech talent are beginning to sound like urban myths. Skywriting, hot air balloon rides. Did you hear the one about the marching band hired to parade in front of the software engineer's house? The glam pool party recruiters threw in Philly?

Strange, and taxable, income . . .

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- The best things in life are free. Almost everything else is taxable. Your start-up company gives you stock options. You get fired but receive a golden parachute. You win a lawsuit settlement. What's taxable, and what's not? Generally, if it looks like money and spends like money, it's probably taxable.

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Usually, our page can handle the feedback we receive on stories and columns. Not for the short piece I wrote last week on operating system. Apple's dropping of Newton for products such as eMate and MessagePad could be seen as a loss of momentum for the computer company, I suggested in the column, citing an interview with an industry analyst. Not so, said most Apple (AAPL)
AAPL, +0.61%
readers, who chided me for taking a simple view of a company whose fortunes, they said, are improving.

Bazdarich: Looks like U.S. growth is slowing . . .

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- In his testimony last week before Congress, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan continued to wax rhapsodic about the state of the U.S. economy. Indeed, U.S. economic growth did finish 1997 on an upbeat note. However, my guess is that things are slowing down a bit in early-1998.

Erdman's World: Thank you, Ronald Reagan . . .

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- While watching the PBS program on Ronald Reagan this week, I could not help but think how much we owe our prosperity in the 1990's to what he did in the 1980's. I refer here specifically to how he ended the Cold War by literally "arming" the Soviet Union to death.

Zapman: Steve's on the Jobs . . .

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Everyone I know is looking for the next Microsoft like it's some sort of Holy Grail. Bunk. THE next Microsoft
MSFT, +0.98%
is in Cupertino and has been since before the last Microsoft. It's called Apple Computer.
AAPL, +0.61%

I.P.Onder:Something's rotten at Ripe Touch . . .

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (CBS.MW) -- The popularity of hydroponic produce -- vegetables grown without soil -- is surging. Ripe Touch Greenhouses -- a Castle Rock, Colo.-based development-stage company looking to raise more than $5.1 million in an upcoming IPO -- is hoping to take advantage of the trend by growing tomatoes in ayet-to-be-built, 20-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse.

Soapbox: Looking for 'next Microsoft' . . .

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Investors generally dream of finding "the next Microsoft" but quite often end up with some nightmare stock. A stake of $10,000 put into shares of the software giant in 1986 is now worth more than $1.8 million. The anguished investor who missed that rocket may be wondering how some stocks defy gravity. The answer, according to a new book from a trio of pundits, is that Microsoft is a "gorilla" -- a single company that holds extraordinary and enduring power in the market.

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